can't connect to LAN

I have a Dell Inspiron 1525 laptop with Vista home basic. I can connect to the internet via wireless, yet I cannot connect via a local cable. It doesn't even say "cable unplugged", it simply doesn't recognize the cable whatsoever. Can someone help me with this? Thanks.

P.S. I know very little about computers, so replies that have the least amount of jargon would be the most helpful. Thanks.

When you plug in the cable are you disabling the wireless?

If so then open up a command prompt ( start search > type cmd > hit enter )
in the command prompt copy and post the below command:

ipconfig > %userprofile%\Desktop\ipconfig.txt

then hit enter, post the results from that on here.